Kyrie Irving is currently making the promotional rounds as Uncle Drew, his new movie, is set to make its worldwide debut Friday. He appeared on Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning to discuss leaving Cleveland and LeBron, his relationship with Kehlani, and more. Check out the full interview above.
Naturally, the conversation quickly gravitated toward King James. Kyrie explained how the narrative that he left Cleveland because he wanted to be "the guy" has been twisted.
"I think even the perception of wanting to be 'the guy,' I just wanted to be genuinely happy," Kyrie said. "After a while, being in that environment [in Cleveland], it wasn't conducive for me at the time. Going to Boston, a really intimate environment, it almost reminds me of going back to college. It's [so] history-enriched, and seeing all those legends on the wall every day is a constant reminder of where you are."
He explained his thought process as he decided to ask for a trade last summer. "You come to a point in your career where you really just start taking responsibility for how you want to shape your career," Kyrie recalled. "It's going to take getting rid of some old habits, coming to terms with emotions that you have, being a young kid…it was coming to a point where I just had to let go. I had an unbelievable six years with Cleveland, I love them to death…then we do something historic like bring a championship to Cleveland. Then afterward, it's like, we part ways."
The Hot 97 crew also asked Kyrie about why he recently came to the defense of Kehlani, his ex, on Instagram. "One, I don't want to ever see a strong woman go through that. They have to be twice as gnarly as we do as men in this world," Kyrie said. "I think that, when they started getting into her profession, people on behalf of me, wearing my jersey to her concerts, I was like, I don't need that. For us, it was more or less cementing our friendship."
Kyrie and Kehlani seem to be on good terms, but he has learned a lesson from that relationship—he doesn't plan on having another high-profile romance in the spotlight. "Bro, hell no," he said. "It's hard, man."
Check out a trailer for Uncle Drew here.
